The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has approved dates of October 31 to November 13 for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on the first day of its meeting here.
This window was proposed "following an extensive assessment factoring in school and university times to best suit the athletes' school curriculum, meteorological conditions and other international sports events and celebrations", the IOC said.
It means that Dakar 2026 is set to coincide with Africa Youth Day on November 1, which it is hoped will enable more school children to participate in the Games.
The dates for Dakar 2026 are later than the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018, held from October 6 to 18.
The Games had originally been due to be held this year from October 22 to November 9, but was postponed by four years, with the IOC citing the "challenges faced by the organisation, National Olympic Committees and International Federations" after Tokyo 2020 was delayed by a year.
IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi added that the sport programme for Dakar 2026 is set to be finalised in the first half of next year, and provided an update on projects related to the Games.
"Several of us were in Dakar a few weeks ago on the occasion of Dakar en Jeux, which is a programme that is designed to involve youth in and around Dakar, the three cities that will host the competition - that is Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly," the Swiss official said.
Dates for Dakar 2026 were approved on the first day of the IOC Executive Board meeting (c)Getty Images
"It was amazingly successful.
"The level of engagement of youth around sport and music, because there was a lot of music and festival atmosphere, was really fantastic to be part of.
"Dakar also presented their renovation projects for the main venues inside Dakar.
"They have confirmed that they have the budget for these infrastructures, and the kick-off of the works will be at the end of 2023, well in time to deliver these venues for the Games, and we saw during our last visit the campus, which will be hosting the Youth Olympic Village."
IOC President Thomas Bach was among the officials who travelled to the Senegalese capital at the end of October, planting a "symbolic tree" at the site that is set to be the Athletes' Village at Dakar 2026.
The IOC Executive Board meeting is set to continue tomorrow and conclude on Wednesday (December 7).